How soon after adding light

[Tobydexter]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but if searched, and looked back several pages, and couldn't find an answer. We finished our new coop today, and added a red heat lamp. Out of seven hens I've been getting one egg every second day for two months. My dear boyfriend is wondering out loud their value these days . So my question is, how soon after adding a light do you notice an increase in production? Thanks!

 

[matt44644]

Do you use a regular light also,and if for how long each day?

 

[Tobydexter]

I just have one of the red brooder/heat lamps. It's bright enough to read or see anything in there. Tonight is the first night so I was going to try to make their hours of light be about 14.

 

[matt44644]

Give them 15 hours of regular light.A 40 watt incandescent ,or a 60 watt equivalent CFL or LED


Hens lay best during long summer days but production drops off as nights lengthen in the fall. Installing a light bulb controlled by a timer in the coop keeps chickens happily laying through winter’s short days.
Here are some basic must do’s when lighting your coop:

• Set the timer to turn the light on in the early morning and shut off shortly after sunrise.
• Lighting does not have to be fancy or extremely bright. A good rule is that the light in the coop should be just light enough to read by.
• For optimal winter laying, artificial and natural light should total about 15 hours per day.

To start an artificial lighting program, most chicken keepers simply screw an incandescent bulb into a fixture and control it with an inexpensive timer, without a second thought. Thing again! That bulb is costing you money – and there may be better options. Incandescent bulbs, invented over a century ago, are inexpensive, work well in the cold, and create bright light the instant the switch is flipped on. Unfortunately, they are fragile, burn out frequently, and are expensive to operate. Incandescent bulbs convert most of the electricity they consume into heat instead of light.
About 20 years ago compact fluorescent bulbs entered the market. Much more efficient than incandescents, fluorescent bulbs convert most of the energy they use into light, not heat. Unfortunately they are not ideal in the coop as they are fragile and don’t work as well in the cold. While fluorescents last thousands of hours before they burn out, when temperatures are below zero they barely glow. The bulbs also contain tiny amounts of toxic mercury.
A few years ago ideal bulbs for coops, outbuildings and barns entered the market. LED, or Light Emitting Diode, bulbs are perfect for cold locations like chicken coops. LED’s are durable and have no glass to break. Their globe is plastic, comes on instantly at any temperature, hardly ever burns out, contains no toxic chemicals and is amazingly efficient. Their only disadvantage is cost, and that is rapidly dropping.
By giving your girls a little extra light through the winter and utilizing the right bulb to do it, you can keep them happy and productive even during the coldest months of the year!
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworl...edium=home%2Bpage%2Blink&utm_campaign=website

 

[Tobydexter]

Great, thanks for the informative reply Matt! So then the question remains, with proper lighting, how soon would you notice a difference?

 

[azelgin]

As I recall, it takes about two weeks for them to start laying noticeably more. Keep in mind, that if you add artificial longer daylight, that the number of years your birds will lay, will be decreased. More, or less, they "burn out" early.

 

[Tobydexter]

Thanks azelgin, I read that about burning them out as well. They are two years old now, so I figured I would see how it goes and then let them do what they want after summer